Jeffrey Canada and Timothy Perry Do Annapolis
By Barry O’Connell
When national heavyweights cross state lines to establish an operational footprint, they don’t do it quietly. And they certainly don’t do it without a guide who knows every brick of State Circle.
That reality played out in the West Wing and legislative halls of Annapolis as the execution phase of Governor Wes Moore’s flagship ENOUGH Act began taking shape.
The ENOUGH Act—designed to target concentrated, generational poverty across Maryland through community-led cradle-to-career support—was drawn directly from the national blueprint pioneered by Geoffrey Canada and the world-renowned Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ). Canada, who served as the inspiration for President Barack Obama’s federal “Promise Neighborhoods” initiative, has spent decades turning hyper-local anti-poverty models into national policy.
So when Canada and HCZ looked at Maryland’s multi-million-dollar commitment to place-based poverty alleviation, they didn’t just send a polite letter of support from New York. They recognized that turning a landmark state legislative victory into on-the-ground reality requires serious advocacy power right here in Annapolis.
To lead that effort, Harlem Children’s Zone retained Perry Jacobson.
The Miller School of Legislative Machinery
Securing a national client of HCZ’s stature is a major coup for the firm, but it comes as no surprise to anyone who has tracked Timothy Perry’s career.
